


Halo

by elveriamoir



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-11 04:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elveriamoir/pseuds/elveriamoir
Summary: I don't own any of the hobbit characters I am just taking them out of Tolkien's toy box and playing with them.To my kitten with claws Ori. I will restore your honour after the mess PJ and FW made of your character. A collection of Short stories dedicated to the youngest of the Ri brothers. Ori.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ties in with chapters 5&6 in An Unexpected Encounter. Warnings of child abuse and what could possibly count for torture in place for this chapter. Ori is all of fifty when this takes place and there for twenty seven years away from being of age.

Punishment.

Ori was curled up under a thin, rather holey blanket. If his older brother Nori was here he would have said it was more hole than blanket, but his older brother wasn't there or else Ori wouldn't be trying his hardest not to cry. He wanted Nori and he wanted Dori. He bit his lip till it bled, the taste of charcoal strong in his mouth and his cramping stomach clenching tightly on its emptiness.

He should have known better than to approach a meal left out for him on the estate, after all it had been taught to him over and over again. He'd seen others taken to task for daring to eat without the estate manager's permission. He'd seen his own Dori take blows meant for a younger dwarf. He'd witnessed his well-mannered brother carefully treating young dwarrows whose grey skin tone and skeletal frames showed they had broken the rules.

Yes he really should have known better. He bit back a cry and forced down more tears as he tried to move. The rough material of the blanket caught on the edges of the welts on his back and the cold of the stone seeped into his bruised bones. He closed his eyes, he hadn't given them the enjoyment of his tears or cries when they'd punished him so he wouldn't give them it now. He rolled cautiously onto his back, glad they'd left him with his under trousers if nothing else, shifting uncomfortably he leant his burning back against the gritty but thankfully cool wall. He pulled his knees to his narrow chest, setting his bare feet carefully on the floor, wincing as the pain in his left ankle joined the party. He closed his eyes and sighed silently, knowing even if they weren't watching him they were listening. He thought back over his mistakes.

Nori never stayed long, merely turning up covered in black dust and bringing Dori enough money so they could meet their rent and a warm hug for Ori. This time though Ori had been left alone as the estate manager had sent Dori on a message, apparently the other estate manager he wanted contacting was a fair distance away as Dori had been gone four days when Ori ran out of their pitiful stash of food in their rented home, it had been another six days after that when Ori had fallen for their trickery. He'd stumbled into the kitchen of the estates shaking from the cold rain, tired from his fourth sixteen hour shift in a row and slightly delirious from lack of food, when he'd found a simple meal of hard bread and harder bread set out for him. He'd argued with himself, but hunger had won out, in the end hunger and tiredness always won out. They had been watching him from the upper floor and as soon as he'd taken a mouthful swept into the room screaming about him stealing. In his confusion Ori had tripped spraining his ankle badly, and his fall had them circling him like wolves. He'd tried to fight back, but in his weakened state and against four full-grown, healthy males of the race of man he stood no chance. He had taken grim satisfaction in the fact he'd given one a black eye, bust one's nose, knocked the third's bottom front teeth out and made the fourth sprain his own ankle. His fighting back merely made his punishment worse. They forced a concoction of water and charcoal down his throat and soon he was throwing up, it went on until his already painfully empty stomach was spasaming into cramps. They offered him no aid merely held him still until he finally stopped retching. He had thought that was all, but having fought back he was in for a worse time of it, apparently they were going to use him as an example, and use all of the punishments. He was stripped of his outer clothing and his boots before being dragged, stumbling into the central square, where he was forced to his knees before a large wooden block. He tried to fight back again, getting a bust lip in the process as they tied him to it. He clenched his jaw against the pain of the lashes, his dwarven hide barely breaking from the leather thong. Their howls had him smiling grimly through the pain and meeting the horrified gaze of a pair of familiar green eyes. His vision was blurry though and he was focused solely on not sobbing or screaming as they increased the pressure. He dug his fingers into the wood until their tips bled, breathing shallowly through his nose and focusing on those green eyes until they untied him and dragged him across the square to the jail. He didn't aid them any preferring to hang like a dead weight between them and taking satisfaction in the grunts of pain he heard from one of them.

Now though he was in a cold, damp cell in nothing more than his under trousers and with a tatty cloth as a blanket and one pitcher of water. He was bruised in places he didn't know it was possible to bruise. He would bet the only reason he was alive was his dwarven heritage. Thick skin, solid muscled, bones of the very rock Arda was made from. He didn't know whether to be thankful to Mahal for making his children so endurable or to curse him to the darkest depths of Mordor.

He was left without food for several more days, his only company being the rats around him. The heavy cold started to seep into even his dwarven bones. His water pitcher hadn't been refilled and he was down to the last inch in the bottom having rationed it. The lack of food made moving more than to take a drink impossible. Ori shuddered, still desperately forcing the tears back, he didn't have to worry about crying out. He had lost the ability to speak the second day in. He could still tell how many days had passed in the darkness of the estate jail and swore if his captives knew of a dwarf's ability to sense the changing days even while underground he would find a way to kill them, it was another inventive form of torture.

A week later and Ori couldn't even open his eyes, his breathing was shallow, and he'd lost the feeling in his fingers and toes. He could no longer feel the cold or the pain, if it weren't for the very shallow rise and fall of his chest the dwarf that burst through the door of his cell would have thought him dead. The roar of an enraged eldest brother chilled the surviving guards to the bone as three floors above Ori's prison an older brother's grim expression shifted to one that promised pure pain. Green eyes went hard and flat as they strode out of the jail leaving broken bodies behind them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo00o0o0

Bag End: Present day.

Ori knew his brown eyes probably looked like a rabbit caught by a fox and as he fixed them on his host's face, he had to force down flash backs. He was shaking dangerously and knew he had to convince their host he wouldn't eat without permission. "I don't wanna get in trouble if you are joking with me Master Baggins, 'm really hungry but I know better than to eat before my host and I know better than to eat anything other than what you put on my plate, I … Oh Mahal I'm sorry Master Baggins, I'm so sorry Please…."


	2. Of Courting Dwarrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kili and Ori having a quiet moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I don't own any of the hobbit characters I am just taking them out of Tolkien's toy box and playing with them. This ties in with Chapter 43 of An Unexpected Encounter.

Of Courting Dwarrows.

"It's okay Ori I know you don't like me like that and I promise I won't stare again it's just I've never seen you without a shirt and I couldn't help it and please don't stop being friends with me." He bit his bottom lip as he stared across the narrow space at Ori. The other dwarf hadn't moved and Kili was suddenly terrified he'd mucked it up. He pushed quickly to his feet and left the balcony with tears clawing at his throat.

Ori growled as he watched Kili retreat, staring stupidly until his brain caught up. Kili liked him back. Prince though Kili was and son of a merchant though Ori was, Kili liked him. Kili was walking away from him. He darted after the young dwarf and caught his arm just as they rounded a corner of the path. He pulled the brunette to a stop and stepped into his personal space. "Did you mean it?" he gasped.

Kili felt his bottom lip tremble and tried to talk with out his voice shaking, "That I wouldn't look again and that I was sorry? Yes I meant it. Please don't be mad at me Ori."

Ori stepped forward, forcing Kili to step back against a tree trunk, "Not about that," he almost growled, stopping himself from reaching out in case it was a cruel joke, "About liking me?"

Kili froze, "Crap, yes. Oh Mahal you hate me for it."

"No I don't Kili," Ori's voice was soft and he finally allowed himself to pull Kili into his chest. "I can't hate you for it because it would be hypocritical of me." He ran his hands in soothing circles on Kili's back, shuddering when the younger dwarf slid his hands over his bare back to return the hold. Goosebumps followed in the wake of Kili's fingers and Ori swallowed, "You don't know how much I have prayed to hear you say those words Kili. How I wanted you to return my feelings." He gripped the back of the prince's tunic tighter. "Kili I like you back."

"Really?"

The hot air against his neck caused the fine hairs on his arms to stand up and Ori was suddenly understanding a very small portion of what he'd read in that book. "Really Kili," he whispered untangling himself and pushing the brunette gently back against the tree trunk. "Can I kiss you Kili? I know we haven't courted or anything like that but I really want to kiss you."

"Ori." Kili's voice was full of wonder and he might have kicked himself for sounding so young if it weren't for the awed emotion in Ori's brown eyes. "One kiss can't hurt can it?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around Ori's bare waist. "Besides if you would let me court you no one will ever leave us alone as soon as they find out."

"Shush Kili of course I want to court you and I know it is wrong and we shouldn't but if you don't tell me to stop I am going to kiss you now since you agreed." Ori leant in slowly, letting his own hands slid around Kili's narrow waist. He gently touched their lips together. The kiss was chaste and short, but it left both of them smiling like idiots. Ori rested his forehead lightly against Kili's. "I suppose I should go put a shirt on," he sighed.

"Must you?" sassed Kili, before sobering, "No wait, I have two tunics on and you can borrow one if you spend the day with me without us having to go back in there. I really don't want to share you." He bumped their foreheads affectionately, "We can go to that garden room you showed me and talk. Please Ori."

"I shouldn't and Thorin will skin me, but I want to make the most of our time without anyone knowing and interfering so I agree, on one condition." Ori breathed in the smell that was uniquely Kili as he waited for a reply.

Kili had shut his eyes as Ori talked, but pried them open at that, "What condition?"

Ori reached up and ran his fingers into Kili's unbound hair, "You let me put a braid in this and wear my bead."

Kili smirked, "That I can live with because it means I can do the same for you."

Ori chuckled and pulled away slightly only to entwine their fingers, "Shall we move before we run into anyone then?"

Kili paused, "You don't want my shirt first?"

Ori smirked, "You want me to cover up?"

Kili shook his head firmly, "No not really but I promised I wouldn't look."

Ori flushed lightly, "Kili you are the only one who can look."

"In that case then I'm not giving you my tunic until we head back." He huffed as Ori started to walk, "Would you like to learn how to use a bow and arrow?" He raised the hand Ori had used to capture his and examined the long fingers, "You have the hands for it."

Ori looked carefully at Kili, "I would love to if you will be my teacher."

Kili nodded happily, before cautiously asking his next question, "Will you teach me to write as beautifully as you please Ori? I am rather jealous of your calligraphy skills."

Ori nodded and pressed a light kiss to the back of the hand he had captured. "It would be my pleasure Kili." He smirked, "I will see if the elves have a copy of that book I was telling you about if you want."

Kili tilted his head, considering what Ori had told him about that book carefully, "I'd rather you just surprised me with what you know." He admitted after a few moments.

Ori nodded as he drew Kili through the gate and into their garden room, "I'd be delighted to," he whispered.

888

The sun slanted through the branches of the trees hanging over the valley and filled the garden room with rainbows. Ori tugged Kili after him, detouring around the bench and to the moss covered rocks at the bottom of the wrought iron fence. With the sound of the stream, the rainbow light off the crystals and the sweet scent off the jasmine and woodruff he felt like he had stepped into a dream. When he sank to the ground and Kili followed him he found himself wondering if he had indeed slipped into sleep at some point. A soft hand on his knee made him look up and he found himself staring deep into Kili's endless eyes. He reached shaking fingers up to cup the side of the brunette's jaw and watched as delicate eyelids fluttered shut as Kili turned his face to nuzzle at the inside of Ori's wrist. Suddenly aware of being shirtless and the crisscrossing silver threads scarring his back Ori dropped his hand and tried to shuffle further towards the fence at his back. Kili's eyes snapped open and warm hands closed around his wrists as the archer moved to kneel in front of him. Ori shot him a shaky smile and Kili leant forward to press their foreheads together. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut as a warm gentle hand closed around the nape of his neck. His breathing slowed as he returned the gesture and revelled in the intimacy of the situation. It was Kili who drew back, but since the archery callused fingers were carding through his hair Ori could find it in himself to be too disappointed. The brush of nails on his scalp tickled and he giggled softly. Kili's rich laugh rewarded him and he opened his eyes to peer into Kili's eyes. The younger dwarf's face was alight with joy and Ori could see some of his own disbelief reflected in brown-black eyes. He ran his own fingers through Kili's hair, marvelling at the silky-softness of the unbound tresses.

Kili leant into Ori's hand, his own falling uselessly at his sides. He could feel his chest vibrating and somewhere it sounded like a cat was purring, but he wasn't going to speak and distract Ori. The hands in his hair felt heavenly and he wondered why he didn't let people touch his hair more often (Fili and mother were always after him to let them braid it). He opened his eyes that he hadn't realised had fluttered shut when he realised Ori was talking. "You really enjoy me doing this?" There was awe in the well-read dwarf's voice and Kili frowned as the hands in his hair stopped their petting. He nodded slowly and was rewarded by Ori running a hand over his hair, stroking the length lightly. "I always thought you hated anything being done to your hair and that is why you never braided it." Ori's voice was soft and he could detect none of the judgement normally found in the voices of others when they found he didn't braid his hair.

He cleared his throat, "I keep enough of it clipped back that it doesn't interfere with my archery, but I have never found anything worth braiding into my hair. After all anyone that needs to, knows who my family is, and anyone who only wants to know me because of that doesn't need the braids so they can suck up to me. Don't stop." He pleaded the last as Ori had stopped and clenched his fists. "Please Ori!" Brown eyes flashed to his face and he saw anger on his behalf before they softened and gentle hands were using his shoulders to turn him around. "What?" He heard Ori shift behind him and leant back against the bare chest as hands started to comb through the length of his hair again. "Would it scare you if I told you that the only time I have really wanted a braid was when you said you wanted to put a braid in my hair?"

"That doesn't scare me Kili." Ori's voice was soft with an emotion Kili couldn't decipher without seeing his eyes, but the hands hadn't stopped and the dwarf was a warm weight at his back. He tilted his head as Ori trailed a finger around his ear and down his neck, shivering slightly as goose-bumps ran over his skin as Ori whispered in his ear, "So you wouldn't mind me putting my braid in now?"

"Please." Kili's voice was no more than a whisper and Ori felt his eyes widen even as he settled himself more comfortably. He kept petting the soft dark hair as he wondered where he should put the braid and how he would tie it off. As he brushed over the soft spot behind Kili's ear he nodded and dropped a kiss to the soft skin there. He raised an eyebrow at the shiver, but as Kili didn't complain merely brushed most of the dark locks over to the other side of the dwarf's head. He started to braid slowly, working the braid from the front of the head and along the scalp, before starting the intricate weave down its length. He finished and held it in place with his grandmother's hair clasp, the wooden, fanged bead held the dark hair perfectly and he was delighted to find he had made the braid just thick enough. Kili seemed to have been lulled into doze with his administrations so he wrapped an arm around the brunette's slender waist and shifted them so they were relaxing against the fence. He could help but keep running his fingers through the soft darkness of Kili's hair though and found he was content watching the paly of light over the younger male's face.

Kili found himself having the most delightful daydream. It wasn't until the hand in his hair stopped that he realised it was all happening in reality. He shifted so he could rest his head on Ori's chest, Ori drew a sharp breath but merely wrapped his other arm around Kili's waist so the brunette didn't think anything of it. He rested a hand on the pale skin of the scholarly dwarf's chest and wondered at the difference in the colour. Ori's skin was pale and smooth with barely visible silver scars running across it. Kili's heart clenched as he remembered Dori staggering into Ered Luin the unconscious, bloody body of his brother cradled in his arms. It hadn't been the most romantic of meetings (especially since Ori had been unconscious) but Kili had found his anger flooding him at the sight and he forced the crowds to clear, leading Dori to the royal healer himself. He had camped outside of the young dwarf's door for days, leaving only when his mother forced him too. When Ori had awoken he'd taken the dwarf handmade puzzles and even dug out his own calligraphy set (the one he'd been given as a birthday gift and never used) along with some parchment. He'd thought he would be the one entertaining Ori, yet it was the much too skinny dwarf who had kept him amused for the duration of his stay in the healers' wing. When Ori left the wing for the home Dori had managed to make them, Kili didn't see him as much and yet the scholarly dwarf never forgot his birthday and was always there when he had an achievement in his weapons training. Even after the incident that meant the pair of them recoiled from physical contact with everyone but each other (rather than just Ori) or maybe because of it, they became closer friends and Kili was the one who helped Dori arrange a party for Ori's coming of age. He sighed and moved his hand so his arms were wrapped around Ori even as he buried his nose into the slender neck. It felt right to be wrapped in this dwarf's arms, it felt right to wear his braid, and really if he hadn't been so blind he could have had this years ago.

Ori wondered what Kili was thinking as the brunette snuggled further into his side. He found his thoughts going back to when they were both much younger, a couple of years after he had arrived in Ered Luin. He hadn't seen Kili for months and was missing his friend, there was whispers of the wandering dwarves return and he was itching to go and visit. He refrained and instead wandered across the town to the underwork Hall of Records. He wasted a few hours scribing down births and deaths as an elder healer dictated to him until the older dwarf admitted they were tired. He had assisted the elder to their quarters and decided he could go and get something from the market. It had gone to Mordor from there. He'd whipped his head around when he'd heard snide whispers about Kili and his temper boiled over. He'd flung the sneering guard clear across the square and broken the jaw of the smirking inn keeper. His actions caught the attention of the rest of the guards and he found himself in a situation to similar to his past. This time though, his blood was up, he was relatively well fed and Nori had taught him some tricks. It wasn't until he slammed into Kili and sent the brunette to the floor that he'd realised he'd managed to get to the royal quarters without being caught. The fact Kili had launched himself up and clung to him, shaking with the force of his sobs had been the only reason he'd escaped arrest. Now he was looking back with a clearer mind, the Lady Dis had looked at him with approval and relief. Gloin had also been there and had gotten between the guards and him. The red haired dwarf had been livid and Ori could remember curling around Kili, protecting him from the loud voices as if they were blows. He turned his head and buried his nose in Kili's hair. They were so oblivious back then. They had to have been, because it felt so right to hold Kili in his arms.

It wasn't until a chill settled into the air that either of them moved. Hearing Ori mutter curses at the coolness and attempt to burrow into his back Kili chuckled softly and pulled out of the older dwarf's arms. "Here Ori," he muttered, voice slightly muffled by the tunic he was pulling over his head, "Not that I want to cover up your chest, but it'll be warmer." He felt his jaw drop as he took in Ori wearing his clothes. Something warm settled in his chest and he knelt, placing a hand on the auburn-haired dwarf's cheek as he did. "I know it is against the rules, but…I mean…we've…can I kiss you?" Ori nodded eagerly and Kili leant forward to press their lips together. A warm arm slid around his waist and a hand threaded in his hair, but the kiss remained sweet and comforting. When he broke away it was with a gentle smile and he was happy to see Ori's eyes were shining with joy. He tugged lightly on Ori's one braid. "Can I put my braid in your hair now?"

Ori felt himself grin as he nodded and let Kili move his head how he wanted it. The tunic smelt slightly like the dwarf fussing with his hair and he buried his nose in it and inhaled in lieu for the real thing. The material was soft against his skin, but what was keeping him warm was the thought that it was Kili's. He ran a hand down the braid Kili had just clipped off, eyes widening as he felt the clasp at the end of it. He knew without looking that the bead was blue and silver, with a small amount of turquoise. He pulled Kili around even as he was moving and pressed their lips together.

Kili's rumbling stomach broke the embrace, and he chuckled bashfully until Ori's stomach answered it. Meeting each other's eyes they started to laugh and it took them a while to calm down.

They wandered back to the wing that had been given to the company for their stay and if their fingers entwined occasionally they didn't care. Shoulder to shoulder, an arm around each other's waist. They stopped just short of entering and leant their heads together under the gathering dusk. Their noses brushed and Kili darted forward to press a swift kiss to Ori's pouting lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Let me know what you think please.


End file.
